Rockstar saved LA Noire says ex-Team Bondi staff member

New information from an ex-employee at Team Bondi seems to indicate that had it not been for Rockstar Games LA Noire would not have been the success it has been.

A Team Bondi insider has alleged that relations between the studio and Rockstar Games became increasingly strained as poor leadership in Sydney caused longer and longer delays in the completion of LA Noire.

The inside source told GamesIndustry.biz: "I've heard a lot about Rockstar's disdain for Team Bondi, and it has been made quite clear that they will not publish Team Bondi's next game. Team Bondi are trying to find another publisher for their next title, but the relationship with Rockstar has been badly damaged - Brendan treats L.A. Noire like a success due to his vision but I think Rockstar are the ones who saved the project. They continued to sink money into LA Noire, and their marketing was fantastic. Without their continued support, Team Bondi would have gone under several years ago."

The source added: "It's also worth pointing out that Rockstar used to be very keen on making Team Bondi something like 'Rockstar Sydney' - the more they worked with Team Bondi management, the more they came to understand that this was a terrible idea."

The resentment seemed to be mutual with Team Bondi boss Brendan McNamara saying in an internal email about Rockstar's airing of new logos for LA Noire (which he didn't like): "Every dog has its day and there's going to be hell to pay for this one. I'll never forget being treated like an absolute **** by these people."

The revelations come off the back of reports of overbearing and unreasonable working conditions at Team Bondi during the latter stages of development on LA Noire.